The Magic Mistake

by Barbara Brauner

  We all say thank you and dive in. “Save me some,” Katarina says. “You wouldn’t even have those cupcakes if it weren’t for me!”

  Paige hands Katarina a little piece, then says with a smile, “Maybe we should hold the ceremony right here.”

  My mouth suddenly feels really dry. “Where are we going to hold the ceremony?”

  We spend the rest of the afternoon biking all over town, searching.

  We try the obvious places. We knock on the door of every church and every banquet hall—but they’re already booked for Friday night. Some of them won’t even be available for a whole year!

  When there’s no door left to knock on, we end up back at Fountain Park. It’s the only place I can think of to hold the wedding ceremony.

  Paige says, “It’s so depressing here! Lacey, do you think you can make this place look good enough for a wedding?”

  “Well, let’s find out.” I pull my wand out of my pocket and chant, “The fountain oughter look better with water.”

  Katarina cringes. “That’s a horrible rhyme!”

  Horrible or not, the rhyme works, and the fountain fills to the brim. We all jump away when water sprays into the air, but it lands perfectly back in the fountain and even makes a double rainbow.

  “What else?” I ask.

  Sunny says, “Flowers!”

  “Grass!” Paige says.

  “A rhyme that doesn’t stink,” Katarina says. “Take some pride in your work!”

  I chant, “There’s no April showers, but we need grass and flowers.”

  Katarina says, “Better. Not great. But it doesn’t make me want to vomit.”

  I wave my wand all around the park. The dry dirt sprouts lush, green grass. And every bush and tree puts out white and pink blossoms, perfect for a wedding.

  Sunny flops down on the grass. “This place is great! I wish they could get married right this minute!”

  I look around at the beautiful park. Every single thing for the wedding is falling into place.

  So why do I feel so nervous?

  After the park, we go to Sunny’s house to wait for Coach Overdale to show up and propose to Gina. She’ll be so surprised when her prince rides up on his white horse. Okay, there probably won’t be a white horse, but the coach does drive a white Mustang.

  As soon as we go inside, Sunny yells, “Mom! We’re home!”

  We find Gina at her drawing table working on more Frogula sketches.

  “Great timing, girls. I’m done for the day,” Gina says, standing up and tugging at her wrinkled T-shirt and torn yoga pants. “What’s up?”

  Katarina whispers to me, “That definitely doesn’t look like a woman who’s about to get a proposal—unless the proposal is to take those clothes and burn them.”

  Gina does need to be spruced up before Coach Overdale arrives. I think about zapping her the way I did at the emergency room, but this time I think she’d notice. Instead, I tell her, “We wanted to do beauty makeovers. Can you help?”

  Gina loves this idea. “How fun!”

  So, for the next couple of hours, we all put on makeup and lipstick, curl our hair, and polish our nails. (I almost forgot about the nails part, but Katarina whispers that chipped nails are tacky when the prince puts the ring on, even if the prince is just a basketball coach.) When we’re done, Gina looks amazing. She’s changed into a cashmere sweater with a skirt and high heels, and her shining hair curls around her shoulders. And she’s wearing just enough makeup to look like she’s not wearing makeup at all.

  I keep looking out the window, hoping the coach will show up. But none of the cars that drive by are his Mustang.

  Where is he?

  Then my cell phone rings—it’s Mom, wanting me to come to the Hungry Moose right now. I try to argue, but when Mom says, “right now,” in that tone, it means right now.

  I tell Sunny, “I’ve got to go. But text me the second Coach shows up.”

  “Will do.”

  “Paige, do you want to come with me to the restaurant?”

  “No. I’m meeting my dad at the hospital cafeteria for dinner.”

  I check the driveway one more time, but there’s no white Mustang.

  Hurry up, Coach! You’re getting married tomorrow!

  When I walk into the kitchen at the Hungry Moose, I’m a little worried that Mom’s mad at me. She doesn’t “right now” me all that often.

  Mom’s not mad, but she’s definitely not smiling. “There you are, Lacey! You promised to alphabetize the spices in the storeroom.”

  Oops. I did promise, last week. But that seems so long ago now. I walk into the big, windowless storeroom, wondering who’s going to sort Mom’s spices when I go to the Academy. I’m the only one who likes to do it.

  I flip on the light—and in the middle of the worktable, there’s a new satin basketball uniform in purple and gold, the school colors.

  “Surprise!” Mom, Dad, and Madison shout behind me. Everybody gives me a big hug. (Nobody except me hears the little oof in my pocket when Katarina gets squished.)

  “We rush-ordered your uniform,” Mom says. “Aren’t you excited it’s here?”

  “It’s sooooo pretty!” Madison says.

  Oh, geez. I’ve been thinking about the wedding so much that I keep forgetting about basketball.

  Dad tells me, “For the game tomorrow, I’m going to shut the restaurant early. I haven’t done that since Madison was born.”

  They all look so happy and excited—but I’ve got a wedding to plan! I say, “Uh…I’m not really sure I even want to play.”

  Dad says, “Of course you do! When I was playing football I was always scared the night before a game, just like you.” He kisses me on the forehead. “I don’t want you to ever forget how proud of you I am.”

  He looks happy. Really, really happy.

  I’m not playing in the game—but now, for the first time, I’m picturing Dad showing up at the gym tomorrow and me not being there. He’ll be so disappointed! And the last thing I want to do is disappoint my dad. Or Mom. Or Madison.

  Wedding, basketball, Academy. My mind is going around in circles.

  All evening I sit with Madison as she makes glitter-covered macaroni necklaces to wear to the game tomorrow night. She talks me into helping. At least it’s something for me to do when I’m not texting Sunny.

  Me, 7:16 p.m.: Is he there yet?

  Sunny, 7:17 p.m.: No.

  Me, 8:04 p.m.: Any sign?

  Sunny, 8:05 p.m.: No!

  Me, 8:42 p.m.: He must be there!

  Sunny, 8:43 p.m.: NOOOO!!! He’s not!

  Finally it’s time for the restaurant to close. Dad finishes cleaning the grill, and Mom turns out the lights. “Come on, everybody! Let’s go home!”

  The second we get home, I text Sunny again.

  Me, 9:37 p.m.: Where is he?

  Sunny, 9:38 p.m.: I don’t know!

  Katarina reads Sunny’s text over my shoulder and says, “Maybe he got eaten by trolls.”

  “That happens?”

  “Certainly. A troll ate one of my best friends.”

  I sigh. “As if I needed more to worry about. I’m already worried about Dad being disappointed in me. I’m worried about the wedding. And I’m worried about going away to a fairy school for a hundred years.”

  “The wedding is the only thing you need to concern yourself with now. You are a fairy-godmother-in-training. And tomorrow is the most important test of your life.”

  “But tomorrow could be the last time I see my family.”

  “You’re still fussing about that?” Katarina says, truly surprised. She just doesn’t get it.

  “Yes, I’m still fussing! Do I have to go away to the Academy?”

  “Yes.”

  “What if I do the wedding—and then run away?”

  “They’d find you. They’re fairy godmothers, remember?” Katarina darts over, perches on my shoulder, and gives me a little pat of encouragement. “You’re going to love the Academy
!”

  My phone pings with a text. I pick it up, feeling hopeful—the coach must finally be there!

  But the text from Sunny only says, My mom is putting on her pajamas. What do I do?

  I text back, Keep her awake.

  Sunny texts, I’ll try.

  I sit on the bed, chewing what’s left of my nails. I close my eyes for half a second…

  …and when I open them, there’s a bright light shining in through my window, as if somebody turned on a spotlight.

  OMG!

  It’s not a spotlight—it’s the sun! I must have fallen asleep!

  I check the clock—it’s 7:18 a.m. That can’t be right! I look at my phone to double-check. The clock’s not right. It’s actually 7:19!

  Why didn’t Katarina wake me up? Then I hear her snoring on my dresser. She fell asleep, too.

  I jab out a text on my phone: Did he propose?

  A moment or two later, Sunny texts back: He never even showed up.

  Nooooooooooo!!!!!

  I’m dressed and out of the house in five minutes flat. A new record.

  When I get to school, there’s nobody around yet. I hurry down the empty hall so fast that Katarina has to flutter extra hard to keep up. “The clock is ticking,” she huffs. “If Gina isn’t happily married by 9:23 tonight, every person on earth will hate you!”

  “Maybe you should have thought of that when you let me fall asleep.”

  “I didn’t let you fall asleep. You let me fall asleep.” Katarina disappears into my pocket as if that settles the argument.

  I reach the coach’s office and find him sitting in his chair, drinking coffee and looking like the most depressed man in the world.

  “Hi, Coach,” I say.

  “Practice starts in fifteen minutes. I’ll be right out.” He slumps even further down in his chair.

  I decide the blunt approach is best. “Did you ask Gina to marry you, like you said?”

  “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “People feel better when they talk about things—at least, that’s what my mom says. Did you ask Gina?”

  He sighs. “I never even got the chance. I went to her house, but she wouldn’t open the door. She said it was too late and that I was clueless.”

  Wow, once Gina’s in her pajamas, visiting hours are over. And he was soooo close.

  I tell him, “You need to go ask her right now, this morning!” I walk around the desk and try to pull him out of his chair. “What are you waiting for? You’ve got the ring. You’ve got somebody to propose to. So, propose!”

  But the coach won’t budge. He’s like Julius when he doesn’t want to get off my bed—suddenly he weighs ten times more than he did before. “Lacey, get out of my office. When you’re a grown-up, you’ll understand how complicated things can be sometimes.”

  He thinks I don’t understand how complicated things can be? He’s got no idea. “Please, Coach. Now’s your big chance! Go ask Gina to marry you!”

  “Lacey, I’ve been polite. But GO!”

  As I back out of the office into the hallway, Katarina pokes her head out of my pocket, looking thoughtful.

  “Katarina, what do I do?”

  “Finding a prince usually isn’t so hard.”

  “But we found the prince! He just won’t propose! So what do I do now?”

  “To be honest, I don’t know.”

  “You’ve got to know! How do I make the coach propose to Gina?”

  “I don’t think you can.”

  I feel like throwing myself on the floor and having a tantrum. The fairy godmothers gave me a test that nobody could pass. I hate fairy godmothers!

  It’s all so stupid. We were so close—the coach was on Gina’s porch last night with a ring. And he couldn’t ask her, because she’s a morning person.

  Wait a minute.

  He still wants to marry her; he’s just being stubborn about it. What he needs right now is a little push.

  A little, tiny push. I murmur, “What rhymes with Gina?”

  “Lacey, no! It has to be true love.”

  “It is true love. It just needs to be fast!”

  All the rhymes are bad. Nina and Lena and Argentina and even Katarina. Then it hits me! I go back to the doorway of the coach’s office, pull out my wand, and chant, “You’ll never love another, so propose to Sunny’s mother!”

  In my pocket, Katarina punches me with her little fists. I know how she feels about what I’m doing.

  When I toss the spell at the coach, he closes his eyes for a second like he’s hearing sweet music. He smiles a goofy smile, and when his eyes flutter back open, they’re smiling, too. He leaps from his chair and shouts, “I’M GOING TO GET MARRIED!”

  I nod. “You’re going to get married today at five!”

  “I’M GOING TO GET MARRIED TODAY AT FIVE!” he shouts. He pushes past me and runs into the hall.

  I scurry after him, and we pass by the door of the gym, where the boys on the basketball team are waiting.

  Scott says, “The door’s still locked, Coach!”

  “And it can stay locked. Boys, let me share some advice. Basketball doesn’t matter. Work doesn’t matter. All that matters is LOVE!”

  He shouts so loud that Principal Nazarino pokes her head out of her office at the far end of the hall to see what’s going on.

  Scott says, “But the game—”

  “The game is canceled! Be like me, boys. Go find yourselves somebody to propose to, today!”

  Wow, that proposal spell really, really worked! The boys gawk as he skips away.

  Scott calls after him, “We can’t cancel the game—it’s the first one.”

  And Dylan Hernandez shouts, “We’ll be losers!”

  The coach doesn’t look back. He tells Principal Nazarino, “Wish me luck. I’m going to propose to Sunny’s mother.”

  Her eyes open wide—that’s not something a principal expects one of her teachers to tell her. When the coach is gone, she goes back inside her office and slams the door so hard it almost falls off the hinges. Geez. I hope I didn’t just get the coach fired.

  The boys on the team look shocked. You’d think the coach had canceled the whole season, not just the first game.

  I turn to Scott. “You coach them today.”

  “I’m not the coach.”

  “But you’re good with people; you helped me. And you can use Coach’s playbook.”

  “We can’t even get into the gym!”

  Well, that’s not a big deal. I hide the wand in my hand, aim it at the lock, and whisper, “On count of four, open the door. One, two, three, four.” There’s a little clicking sound, and I turn the knob. “See? It wasn’t locked at all. You guys go in and practice.”

  The boys go into the gym, but Scott sees me starting to leave. “We need you, too, Lacey.”

  “No, you don’t. You’ve got the whole team.”

  “But you’re the best! Everybody knows it.”

  “I’m not good at all. I was just having a lucky day or two.” (If you can call a magic spell luck.)

  “Lacey, we need you. I need you. Please stay.”

  Scott stares at me like a puppy with the world’s longest eyelashes.

  “Well…I have to go right now, but I’ll see you at the game.”

  “You promise?”

  I can’t promise. I don’t want to use magic to cheat at basketball anymore, and without magic, I’m still a sucky player.

  Scott keeps staring at me hopefully. Oh, geez.

  Well…the wedding’s at five. The game’s at seven. If I’m not sucky, maybe I can do both. Maybe a little…magic wouldn’t be so bad. Would it?

  I tell Scott, “Yes, I’ll be there.”

  When I reach the parking lot, the coach is just pulling out, going so fast his tires are screeching. I text Sunny and Paige: He’s on his way to propose!

  Yay!

  Katarina emerges from my pocket and hovers near my head. “This is going to be a total disaster.”

/>   As I walk to Sunny’s house, Katarina flies alongside me complaining about what a botch I’ve made of things.

  Finally I can’t take it anymore. “If you can’t say something helpful, don’t say anything at all.”

  She pretends to lock her lips shut and throw away the key. But even without words, I can tell she’s still complaining.

  When we reach the house, Paige and Sunny are standing on the porch. I run up to them, excited. “Is the coach inside? Is he proposing?”

  Sunny shakes her head. “He’s not here. This is going to be just like last night—he’s not going to show up!”

  I say, “Actually, he was here last night. He said he knocked and Gina wouldn’t even open the door, because it was too late.”

  Sunny says, “But I would have heard that!”

  This is so confusing! What happened last night? Sunny’s acting like the coach didn’t come to her house at all—but he said he did! Then I figure it out and ask Sunny, “Were you asleep?”

  “Maybe.”

  “That explains it. You know you can sleep through anything!” Which is true. To get out of bed every morning, Sunny needs two alarm clocks plus her mom. “He must have been here and you didn’t even wake up.”

  But where’s the coach right now? He was doing a hundred miles an hour out of the parking lot. He should have been here way before me.

  Paige sees him first. “There he is!”

  Katarina sighs loudly and flies back into my pocket.

  Coach Overdale parks at the curb, and there’s a kid in the passenger seat—it’s Martin Shembly, the boy who played the Star Trek theme song at the mascot competition. That’s strange.

  When the coach gets out of the car, I see he’s changed into a suit and tie. He gives us a cheery wave. “Hi, girls! What a beautiful morning for a proposal! I’m head over heels!” He does a cartwheel on the lawn.

  Paige looks at me, shocked. “You put a spell on him?”

  Katarina hisses up at her, “I told her not to!”

  I say, “I had to hurry things up! He had the ring, and he wanted to propose, so I nudged him a little.”